[AU][Cloti] Not your average high school fic. Cloud's a transfer student, and Tifa the most popular girl in school. Against all odds, they begin a relationship, but Cloud has a secret that threatens to destroy their love. Chapter 2 up. Full details inside

Tifa
steps across the gravel of the parking lot,
breathing in the sweet smell of freshly cut grass that's wafting in
on the wind, from the playing field. It's still early, and the
grounds are blissfully silent save for the occasional chirping of a
bird.

She
fiddles with her collar as she makes her
towards the main building, her long raven hair flowing out behind her
with the morning breeze. Tifa's halfway up the stone steps when she
sees him,
leaning against one of the marble columns and staring up at the
orange sky. She stops, suddenly unsure of what to do.

It's not like I'm
even close to him…

Still, her curiosity
gets the better of her, and she slides up next to him on the steps,
careful to make her presence known. She still remembers what happened
the other time she surprised him.

There's no sign that
he even knows that she's there.

She doesn't say
anything.

He doesn't say
anything.

And they just sit
there, basking in the orange dawn.

--

It's
Cid's class again, and everyone's struggling to stay awake as Cid
lectures animatedly about airships. Again.
Actually, they were supposed to have moved on to submarines by this
time in the school term, but Cid being Cid, let's just say that he
decided to extend the syllabus.

Everyone's
surprised as Cid is stopped mid-sentence by a sharp rap on the door,
and a few of the faint-hearted cower in their seats as they observe
Cid change several shades of colour to a very bright purple.
Evidently, Cloud's frequent disruptions of Cid's classes have
left Cid traumatised.

Silence
reigns in class as Bugenhagen steps in, followed by thatdistinctive shock of blond hair. And it
is at this inopportune moment that a certain redhead sniggers as
Cid's face changes color rapidly again, before settling on a
decidedly ambiguous pink.

Bugenhagen
glides across the room, his emerald robe sliding soundlessly over the
tiles, and some people in class wonder if
the venerable old man was ever a ballroom dancer. If he had been he
sure was a damn good one.

There
was some noise at the side of the class, as
Biggs and Wedge engaged in yet another fight for the light switch.
Some things just never change. Not to mention that, if you squinted,
you could see Cid fuming in a dark corner as he was left out of the
figurative and literal spotlight.

Bugenhagen pretended
not to notice and instead cleared his throat, putting his gnarled
hands on the table.

'Now,
I'm sure all of you are aware of the, ahem,
incident that occurred between Cloud and Reno two days back.'

A
pause, for dramatic effect. In addition to being a superb dancer,
Bugenhagen was also a known theatric known for his moving renditions
of Romeo and Juliet.
As the friar, no less.

'As
we all know, the punishment for fighting and violent conduct in the
school grounds is-expulsion'

Tifa
sneaks a peek at the blonde standing behind
Bugenhagen, his hands stuffed into his pockets as usual. He looks
nonchalant as usual, the customary cocky smirk still on his face, and
she wonders how he can even smile at this time.

'However,
when you take into account the circumstances, it was quite clear that
Cloud had been provoked, and the school administration will not
be expelling him.'

Reno
snaps upright in his chair and opens his mouth, as if to say
something, but Bugenhagen shoots him a sharp look and the redhead
wisely keeps his mouth shut. The old man turns around, giving the
blonde a barely perceptible nod, and Cloud shuffles off down the
aisle to his seat.

And
as everyone has come to expect, the bell for break rings right after.

--

Tifa
carries her tray over to their usual table, and ignores Reno who's
positively convinced that she's dyingto go out on a date with him. As if.

'Tee-fuh!
What were you doing on the steps this morning with-' Yuffie
mumbles, before a tired Elena tells her automatically not to talk
with her mouth full, and Jessie stealthily
kicks Yuffie under the table.

'So,
Tifa, how was your morning?' Elena asks, in between shoveling
potato salad into her mouth while Yuffie protests at the blatant
double standards. Jessie kicks Yuffie harder.

Instantly,
Tifa's mind goes into panic, and her fork
stops halfway in the air, en route to her cherry red lips.

'What?
No, no, it's not like that!' Tifa splutters,
noticing the coy smile tugging at the corner of Elena's mouth.

'Go
girl. We're behind you all the way,'
Jessie says as she rises from the table, winking slyly over her
shoulder.

All Tifa could do was
groan.

--

School
was out for the day, and almost everyone
was home already. Tifa had been helping some of the weaker students
with their schoolwork, and by the time she was done the blazing sun
was already sinking out of sight, behind the grimy skyscrapers of
Midgar.

She
trudges across the parking lot wearily and
fishes into her tote for the car keys. Tifa didn't particularly
like tutoring this group of students: it was simply tiring having to
teach them something only to have them forget it the very next
session.

The
door of her coupe swings open easily, and
she stabbs the key into the ignition before twisting it. A deep
rumble, then, nothing.

Great.
The car's dead. How am I supposed to get home now?

Tifa
sits there, in the leather seat, while
baking in the stiflingly humid air. The air conditioning wasn't
working either.

Guess I'll have to
call Dad, then.

She
reaches for her cell and punches in his
office number, only for his secretary to tell her, infuriatingly,
that he was in a meeting and probably wouldn't be done for another
few hours.

Five,
ten, fifteen minutes of listening to the crickets chirping, and
Tifa was still stranded, her dark tresses splayed out across the
headrest. She checks the rapidly darkening sky and was dismayed to
see little pinpoints of light winking into existence; the last
vestiges of light were disappearing as the sun sank beneath Midgar's
famous skyline.

She
sees him then, that head of golden-yellow
hair that was impossible to miss, even in the dark, seemingly
floating in the air as he walks down the school steps in the shadows.

Tifa
hesitates for a moment, before she makes up
her mind.

He's a guy. Let's
hope he knows something about cars. It's not like those three are
around anyway.

She
fumbles with the door, and sprints across
the gravel surface, after Cloud.

'Hey, Cloud, wait
up!' she calls out somewhat breathlessly.

The
figure in front stops and looks over his shoulder, but to her
surprise and chagrin, he starts walking forward again, as if he
hadn't seen her.

Tifa
surges across the lot, desperate, and skids to a halt in front of
Cloud, panting slightly from her exertion. The blonde sighs and
stops, giving her a quizzical look before asking.

'What?'

'I'm having some
trouble with my car, and I was just wondering if you would be so kind
as to help me out.'

Cloud
readjusts the strap of his duffel across the shoulder, before
glancing at the red coupe. He scratches the back of his head before
setting off towards the car, with a slightly bemused Tifa following
in his wake.

--

'Watch
the head, Cloud,' Tifa reminded him as
the blonde withdrew his head from under her car's hood. This was
followed immediately by a loud clunk
and Tifa had to stifle a giggle as Cloud's grease-streaked face
twisted into a scowl. Somehow she just knew that people like Cloud
didn't like being laughed at.

'Thanks
Cloud. So, what's wrong with my ride?'
she asks, after handing him a paper napkin to wipe all the oil and
dirt off.

He
stares at her, as though he's just seen the weirdest thing in the
world.

'What?' Tifa
exclaims, suddenly self-counscious.

The blonde smirks,
before he slams the hood shut and pulls the door open, pointing at
the gauges.

She was out of gas.

Oh my god.

Tifa
wished a hole in the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

And he looks like he's
having a hell of a time just trying to keep a straight face.

--

They're
sitting on the hood of Tifa's car, sipping their drinks.
Tifa had offered to pay for both their drinks, in thanks for Cloud's
help. and with the ulterior motive of sealing his mouth. Cloud had
firmly declined her offer and insisted instead on paying for hers,
like the old-fashioned, chivalrous gentleman that he certainly didn't
look like.

He
drains the last of his drink and throws the crumpled can over his
shoulder, onto the ground, before swinging off the hood and crunching
into the gravel. Cloud digs into his pocket
and pulls his cell out, flipping the display open and letting the
white light spill over his sharp features.

He hesitates for a
moment, but in the end he asks Tifa, hand scratching the back of his
head.

'It's late. You
need a ride home?'

Dad
probably isn't done with his meeting yet, and it is
late. I suppose it's okay…

She
nods.

'You sure it's
alright?'

'I guess. Where's
your place?'

She
tells him, and his brow scrunches up in
thought.

'Sure. It's on the
way. C'mon.'

--

The
pair walked down the dirty streets, through
the regularly spaced patches of concrete that the street lamps
illuminated. Tifa found herself following Cloud closely, more for
protection than anything else. The city of Midgar was not safe at
night, or even, in the day, especially for a young and pretty girl
like Tifa. She lacked the sureness and confidence that Cloud had,
moving through the beggars, vagabonds and homeless that littered the
streets at this hour.

She
followed him down a flight of stairs, into an underground garage
where the walls were covered by graffiti, and was stunned when Cloud
walked up to a sleek, black, and totally sexy bike.

She
stopped short on the tarmac, and gaped.

'What?'

'…'

'Well?'

'I'm afraid of
bikes…' Tifa falters.

That annoying smirk
appeared on his face again. Oh, how she wanted to wipe it off that
pretty face of his!

Pretty?

'You'll
be fine,' he mumbles, rummaging through his bag for something.

'Here.
Goggles,' he says, and throws her a spare
pair.

'Wait!
Aren't you supposed to wear helmets?'

'The
cops don't really care, either way, as long as you don't get into
an accident. Anyway, helmets really screw your hair up,' he
explains, and is mildly surprised when Tifa starts laughing, in spite
of herself.

He
is so
vain!

'What?' he asks,
and gives her a weird look.

'Nothing,
nothing.'

'Alright. Get on
then,' he says, pulling the goggles over his eyes while giving her
suspicious look.

The
engine roars to life and they tear down the streets of Midgar.

--

Riding
pillion on a bike was more fun than she imagined: Tifa had
always had an unspoken fear of anything that moved on two wheels,
ever since her painful attempts at trying to ride a bicycle. Of
course, it helped that she had her arms around somebody buff. She
could feel his rock-hard abs…

Stop!

Tifa
slapped herself mentally to get rid of
those offensive thoughts and felt her face flush hotly. She was glad
he couldn't see her right now.

The
lamps flashed by, and Tifa almost went into hysterics when Cloud ran
a red light at a junction. She settled down somewhat when she
realised that Cloud ignored every single light and that he seemed to
know what he was doing anyway.

Dad would throw a
fit if he saw me like this.

--

A
quarter of an hour later, they screech to a
halt outside a row of posh brownstones that reflect the wealth and
social status of its residents.

'Thanks,'
Tifa says rather shakily as she dismounts
from the bike, still amazed at how Cloud had managed to run that
route in fifteen minutes. She normally took three times that to get
to school.

He
slouches over the bike, with its engine
still running, and pulls his leather gloves snugly over his fingers.

'See
you in school, then,' she says, and runs
up the steps to the door.

It's only when she's
inside that she realises his goggles are still with her.

--

He watches as she
disappears into the interior of the brownstone, before turning the
bike around.